“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Matthew 9:12-13

In this brief statement Jesus makes an interesting point: God desires that people seek Him and surrender to His mercy; He doesn’t just reward those who follow all of the rules.

That isn’t to say that we should behave badly; far from it.  It is to say that many people become so proud and self-righteous that they forget where they came from and entirely overlook the fact that they too need God’s mercy.  The result is that they forget the idea of forgiveness and repentance because it doesn’t occur to them that they need it.

All of us need forgiveness from God.

In quoting Hosea 6:6 in verse 13 above, Jesus calls our attention to a passage in which God is reminding Israel that their love for Him has been fleeting at best, that they have frequently turned away from Him and gone their own way.  (Just like we might tend to do). He points out that God’s priority is that we repent and depend upon Him rather than on ourselves. Our reliance must not be upon our ability to keep the rules and regulations, for we will inevitably stumble; our reliance must be upon God alone.

As we go through the day today, let’s place our reliance in God.  Let’s be thankful for His mercy and seek His forgiveness, humbling ourselves before Him.  Will this result in a better day?  Very likely, for it will be a better day with eternal results.